bungakertas (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bungakertas) wrote2012-02-19 12:05 pm
bungakertas) wrote2012-02-19 12:05 pm
A Small Problem - Chapter Three
A Small Problem - Chapter Three
Disclaimer and general Author's Notes are in the first entry, which is linked at the bottom.
Simply looking down the stairs was disheartening. And Teal’c had found himself winded merely from jogging from the Infirmary. Each stair was near to the height of O'Neill, which meant a laborious climb down each one. The Infirmary was on level twenty-one. The control room was on level twenty-eight, and O'Neill's office was on level twenty-seven.
Knowing all this, when it took fifteen minutes to get down to level twenty-two, Teal'c found himself deliberately forcing away thoughts of how long it would take to reach the control room. Many of his fellow members of the SGC were exiting the commissary towards the stairs, all of them shrunken. And though he would say nothing, Teal'c was overjoyed to see them. Talking to others would require O'Neill to refrain from humming the theme song from “Fraggle Rock” so incessantly.
Colonel Coburn and Colonel Reynolds were leading the way, discussing something.
“Sir!” Coburn greeted them as soon as he became aware of their presence. His oddly squeaky voice jarred with the baritone Teal'c had come to expect from the leader of SG-21. “We were just headed down to the Control Room.”
“We also have determined the control room to be the best immediate objective,” Teal’c replied.
“We’ve accounted for all of the members of SGs 3 and 21 along with all of the kitchen staff, Dr. Lee, and most of the archaeology department, sir,” Reynolds reported. “There were also a dozen airmen in the mess, sir.”
“The current count of weapons in our size is four sidearms, sir,” Coburn added. “There are six radios we can use, however.”
“Ugh,” O’Neill sighed. “This is going to be a long day.”
“Sir, we should check that no one is trapped in the elevators,” Brightman said.
“I was just thinking that,” O’Neill nodded. He paused for a moment. Teal'c was now familiar with O'Neill's expressions. The one he currently wore meant he was about to say something unusual and possibly ridiculous.
“We could send those twelve airmen back into the messes and tell them to get all the toothpicks that they can and bring them down to the control room.”
Teal'c smiled. O'Neill continued to behave as he always had, despite his elevation in rank.
“Toothpicks, sir?” Coburn asked, his voice curious.
“Yeah, toothpicks,” O’Neill shrugged. “Maybe we can use them to…dunno…build ladders or something.”
Coburn nodded. Colonel Carter suddenly turned to the general.
“Sir, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier. Sir, if this is a device that’s shrinking us, we ought to be able to disrupt it with an EM pulse,” Colonel Carter told him.
O’Neill frowned. “That’s never worked before. Remember Urgo?”
Teal’c did remember, and with no fondness. By their expressions, Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter held Urgo in equal distaste. However, Colonel Carter pressed on. “It may not work in this case, either, but we should at least give it a shot.”
“There’s an EMP generator in my lab, Colonel,” Hailey spoke up quietly. She had been assigned a permanent place on SG-21 after testing her on various teams. Teal'c approved of the growth he had seen in her since. “But it’s on a desk, ma’am. You may have trouble getting to it.”
Colonel Carter nodded. “Will it knock out the whole base?”
“No, ma’am,” Hailey answered, “but it will get everything on all of level 19.”
“Alright,” O'Neill said, “SG-1, I want you to give all but one of your radios to Reynolds. They won’t transmit all the way from level 19 to level 28 anyway, so it shouldn’t be a huge handicap. Coburn, get those airmen to bring as many toothpicks as possible down to the control room. We’ll see what we can use them for when we get there. Then I want you and SG-21 to see if there’s anyone stuck in the elevators and try to get them out.
“SG-1, get up to Hailey’s lab and try the EM generator.”
“Yes, sir,” Colonel Carter said.
“Reynolds, you and SG-3 are coming with us,” O'Neill finished.
Reynolds nodded and motioned for his team to accompany him. Teal'c surrendered his radio and then joined his teammates as SG-1 began laboriously climbing the stairs, upwards this time, towards level 19.
He was beginning to feel an unreasonable amount of distaste for these stairs.
*~*~*
By Reynolds' watch—miraculously still functioning despite its current, minuscule, form—it took an hour and fifteen minutes, for them to reach the control room. He, SG-3, Major Davis, and the general were greeted by the tech sergeants from their desks in some very squeaky voices. Reynolds surveyed the desks and was absolutely baffled how they'd managed to get up there in the first place. Sergeant O’Brian, who was on the floor, approached them, his usual baritone several octaves higher.
“Sir, we’ve managed to get people up on the desks,” O’Brian reported, neglecting—damn him—to report how. “We’ve made contact with the front checkpoint, no one has entered or left the base since SG-1 returned. There are currently six teams off-world. Sergeants Siler and Harriman have created an automated response to anyone transmitting an IDC to either redirect to Alpha Site, Cimmeria, or another allied planet, or remain where they are. Would you like us to rescind that, sir?”
“No,” Jack shook his head. “That was good thinking.”
“Yes, sir,” O’Brian nodded. “The iris has also been locked into the closed position, sir.”
The general nodded his thanks. “Colonel Reynolds,” O’Neill said, turning to the colonel. “Major Davis.”
“Yes, sir,” Reynolds said, coming forward.
“I want SG-3 and you, Major Davis, to get up to my office. Call Washington. Appraise them of our situation,” O’Neill ordered, “and see if you can manage to get them to leave us alone until we get all of this sorted out and everyone restored to their usual size. It’d be nice to have all hands on deck.”
“Yes, sir,” Davis agreed.
“General,” Reynolds affirmed. He turned to his team and they began to assess the staircase to O'Neill's office.
As they moved away, Reynolds heard the general say to Sergeant O'Brian. “Now. Can you get me to the PA? I need to make an announcement.”
Chapter One - A Little Bored
Chapter Two - In The Infirmary
Chapter Four - Working Out The Bugs
Chapter Five - Troubleshooting
Chapter Six - You Can't Always Get What You Want...
Chapter Seven - Research For Its Own Sake
Disclaimer and general Author's Notes are in the first entry, which is linked at the bottom.
Simply looking down the stairs was disheartening. And Teal’c had found himself winded merely from jogging from the Infirmary. Each stair was near to the height of O'Neill, which meant a laborious climb down each one. The Infirmary was on level twenty-one. The control room was on level twenty-eight, and O'Neill's office was on level twenty-seven.
Knowing all this, when it took fifteen minutes to get down to level twenty-two, Teal'c found himself deliberately forcing away thoughts of how long it would take to reach the control room. Many of his fellow members of the SGC were exiting the commissary towards the stairs, all of them shrunken. And though he would say nothing, Teal'c was overjoyed to see them. Talking to others would require O'Neill to refrain from humming the theme song from “Fraggle Rock” so incessantly.
Colonel Coburn and Colonel Reynolds were leading the way, discussing something.
“Sir!” Coburn greeted them as soon as he became aware of their presence. His oddly squeaky voice jarred with the baritone Teal'c had come to expect from the leader of SG-21. “We were just headed down to the Control Room.”
“We also have determined the control room to be the best immediate objective,” Teal’c replied.
“We’ve accounted for all of the members of SGs 3 and 21 along with all of the kitchen staff, Dr. Lee, and most of the archaeology department, sir,” Reynolds reported. “There were also a dozen airmen in the mess, sir.”
“The current count of weapons in our size is four sidearms, sir,” Coburn added. “There are six radios we can use, however.”
“Ugh,” O’Neill sighed. “This is going to be a long day.”
“Sir, we should check that no one is trapped in the elevators,” Brightman said.
“I was just thinking that,” O’Neill nodded. He paused for a moment. Teal'c was now familiar with O'Neill's expressions. The one he currently wore meant he was about to say something unusual and possibly ridiculous.
“We could send those twelve airmen back into the messes and tell them to get all the toothpicks that they can and bring them down to the control room.”
Teal'c smiled. O'Neill continued to behave as he always had, despite his elevation in rank.
“Toothpicks, sir?” Coburn asked, his voice curious.
“Yeah, toothpicks,” O’Neill shrugged. “Maybe we can use them to…dunno…build ladders or something.”
Coburn nodded. Colonel Carter suddenly turned to the general.
“Sir, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier. Sir, if this is a device that’s shrinking us, we ought to be able to disrupt it with an EM pulse,” Colonel Carter told him.
O’Neill frowned. “That’s never worked before. Remember Urgo?”
Teal’c did remember, and with no fondness. By their expressions, Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter held Urgo in equal distaste. However, Colonel Carter pressed on. “It may not work in this case, either, but we should at least give it a shot.”
“There’s an EMP generator in my lab, Colonel,” Hailey spoke up quietly. She had been assigned a permanent place on SG-21 after testing her on various teams. Teal'c approved of the growth he had seen in her since. “But it’s on a desk, ma’am. You may have trouble getting to it.”
Colonel Carter nodded. “Will it knock out the whole base?”
“No, ma’am,” Hailey answered, “but it will get everything on all of level 19.”
“Alright,” O'Neill said, “SG-1, I want you to give all but one of your radios to Reynolds. They won’t transmit all the way from level 19 to level 28 anyway, so it shouldn’t be a huge handicap. Coburn, get those airmen to bring as many toothpicks as possible down to the control room. We’ll see what we can use them for when we get there. Then I want you and SG-21 to see if there’s anyone stuck in the elevators and try to get them out.
“SG-1, get up to Hailey’s lab and try the EM generator.”
“Yes, sir,” Colonel Carter said.
“Reynolds, you and SG-3 are coming with us,” O'Neill finished.
Reynolds nodded and motioned for his team to accompany him. Teal'c surrendered his radio and then joined his teammates as SG-1 began laboriously climbing the stairs, upwards this time, towards level 19.
He was beginning to feel an unreasonable amount of distaste for these stairs.
By Reynolds' watch—miraculously still functioning despite its current, minuscule, form—it took an hour and fifteen minutes, for them to reach the control room. He, SG-3, Major Davis, and the general were greeted by the tech sergeants from their desks in some very squeaky voices. Reynolds surveyed the desks and was absolutely baffled how they'd managed to get up there in the first place. Sergeant O’Brian, who was on the floor, approached them, his usual baritone several octaves higher.
“Sir, we’ve managed to get people up on the desks,” O’Brian reported, neglecting—damn him—to report how. “We’ve made contact with the front checkpoint, no one has entered or left the base since SG-1 returned. There are currently six teams off-world. Sergeants Siler and Harriman have created an automated response to anyone transmitting an IDC to either redirect to Alpha Site, Cimmeria, or another allied planet, or remain where they are. Would you like us to rescind that, sir?”
“No,” Jack shook his head. “That was good thinking.”
“Yes, sir,” O’Brian nodded. “The iris has also been locked into the closed position, sir.”
The general nodded his thanks. “Colonel Reynolds,” O’Neill said, turning to the colonel. “Major Davis.”
“Yes, sir,” Reynolds said, coming forward.
“I want SG-3 and you, Major Davis, to get up to my office. Call Washington. Appraise them of our situation,” O’Neill ordered, “and see if you can manage to get them to leave us alone until we get all of this sorted out and everyone restored to their usual size. It’d be nice to have all hands on deck.”
“Yes, sir,” Davis agreed.
“General,” Reynolds affirmed. He turned to his team and they began to assess the staircase to O'Neill's office.
As they moved away, Reynolds heard the general say to Sergeant O'Brian. “Now. Can you get me to the PA? I need to make an announcement.”
Chapter One - A Little Bored
Chapter Two - In The Infirmary
Chapter Four - Working Out The Bugs
Chapter Five - Troubleshooting
Chapter Six - You Can't Always Get What You Want...
Chapter Seven - Research For Its Own Sake